Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 11:37 am Post subject: Who are your fav OTR actors who were not well known in film?

In the year I've been listening to OTR, I've found that my favorite radio actors/actresses are those that are also well known in the movies such as Orson Welles, Agnes Moorehead, Peter Lorre, Eve Arden, Lucille Ball, E.G. Robinson, Barbara Stanwyck and Joseph Cotten. I think it's because I am more likely to notice when their names are mentioned, and it's so much easier to visualize the play in your head when you can pair a face (sometimes also an acting style) with the voice. And of course, it's likely that a person with great acting skills on film will also be great on radio.

However, I think it would be interesting to find out about actors/actresses who give great performances on radio but never had a significant film career. Who are your favorites?

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This can be a two-edged sword. I remember one reviewer of CBS RMT who said that he could never get into the episodes starring Mercedes McCambridge because he always pictured her and not the character she was playing.

In some cases, ignorance is bliss._________________tuned in from down under

I understand what you mean about an actor's appearance getting in the way of their radio performance. I always have that trouble when listening to Gunsmoke because even though William Conrad's performances are top notch, I just can't help but picture him as he appeared later in life--bald, bearded, and morbidly obese. No disrespect intended, but that just ain't Matt Dillon. James Arness will always be Matt Dillon to me. I visualize the other characters more or less as the actors who played them on TV, except for "Chester". I see him more like Ken Curtis (Festus) but that may be because I don't really remember Dennis Weaver as "Chester" on the TV show since he left about the time I was born and the black-and-white episodes he was in are seldom seen in syndication today.